Finding the kicker with the lowest salary in the National Football League requires looking at the contracts and salaries of all active kickers across the league’s 32 teams. While kickers are not usually the highest paid players on an NFL roster, there is still a wide range in how much teams pay for the critical kicking positions.
Background on NFL Kicker Salaries
In the NFL, each team can have up to 53 players on its active roster. The kicking unit is comprised of a placekicker who handles field goals and extra points, and a punter who punts the ball on fourth downs. Teams will sometimes carry a kickoff specialist as well in the third kicking spot. Kickers are often the highest scoring players for a team because of their points from field goals and extra points. However, they do not command the mega salaries that quarterbacks, running backs, and other position players do.
According to OverTheCap.com, the average salary for NFL kickers in 2022 is around $3.25 million. This puts kickers in the bottom third of average salaries by position in the league. For comparison, the average QB salary is over $9 million, wide receivers average around $6 million, and the average salary across all NFL positions is nearly $3.5 million.
There are several reasons why kickers have lower salaries than other football positions:
- The supply of capable kickers is plentiful – there are many kickers coming out of college football each year.
- Kickers are viewed as less critical to team success than other positions that are on the field for most plays.
- Kickers sustain fewer injuries because they don’t get tackled or take hits like other players.
- There is less competition for kickers in free agency.
While the average kicker salary is under $4 million, there are some elite veteran kickers who do command much higher salaries. For example, Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has the highest kicker salary at over $6 million per year. On the other end of the spectrum, there are also minimum salary kickers whose deals are for the NFL minimum of around $1 million or less.
The Lowest Paid NFL Kickers
Based on 2022 salary figures from OverTheCap.com, here are the 5 lowest paid starting kickers in the NFL:
| Name | Team | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Jose Borregales | Miami Dolphins | $825,000 |
| Cairo Santos | Chicago Bears | $1,137,500 |
| Matthew Wright | Pittsburgh Steelers | $1,187,500 |
| Greg Joseph | Minnesota Vikings | $1,225,000 |
| Randy Bullock | Tennessee Titans | $1,272,500 |
At just $825,000 in salary for 2022, second-year kicker Jose Borregales of the Miami Dolphins is the lowest paid starting kicker in the NFL this season. As an undrafted free agent in 2021, Borregales won Miami’s kicking job and had a solid rookie season making 20 of 24 field goals. But as a young kicker, he is making just above the 2-year NFL minimum salary.
Other bargain kickers include Cairo Santos of the Bears, Matthew Wright of the Steelers, Greg Joseph of the Vikings, and Randy Bullock of the Titans. All have salaries under $1.3 million for 2022. These veterans have bounced around the league on low-salary one year deals.
Why Some NFL Kickers Have Low Salaries
There are a few main reasons why some NFL kickers earn lower salaries relative to the rest of the league:
Minimum Salaries for Young/Unproven Kickers
Kickers coming into the NFL as rookies or with very little experience often must take the NFL minimum salary on short-term deals. For example, Jose Borregales and Matthew Wright only have 1-2 years of NFL experience so far. Teams want to see consistency from young kickers before investing higher salaries in them long-term.
Short-Term Replacements
Some teams go through multiple kickers in a season as short-term replacements due to injuries or performance issues. These replacements are paid at the league minimum. For example, Pittsburgh has already used both Chris Boswell and Matthew Wright at kicker this season due to injury.
Lack of Leverage in Free Agency
With the ample supply of capable kickers from college football each year, free agent kickers lack leverage in negotiating higher salaries. There are always new kickers coming in willing to play for the minimum. Cairo Santos and Randy Bullock ended up with minimum deals after underwhelming free agency periods.
Consistent Kickers Not as Valued
Accurate placekickers with a history of consistency like Greg Joseph often end up underpaid. Teams wrongly assume any kicker can perform well, failing to reward Joseph for his accuracy and reliability.
The Highest Paid NFL Kickers
For comparison, here are the top 5 highest paid NFL kickers by average salary:
| Name | Team | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Tucker | Baltimore Ravens | $6,100,000 |
| Harrison Butker | Kansas City Chiefs | $5,953,750 |
| Matt Gay | Los Angeles Rams | $5,628,000 |
| Chris Boswell | Pittsburgh Steelers | $5,450,000 |
| Jake Elliott | Philadelphia Eagles | $5,362,500 |
Justin Tucker of the Ravens is the highest paid kicker by a wide margin with an average salary over $6 million. Tucker is arguably the top placekicker in NFL history and has extraordinary accuracy on high pressure kicks. The Chiefs’ Harrison Butker also earns among the top salaries for his positional dominance. These top kickers demonstrate elite talent worthy of their higher compensation.
Conclusion
While most kickers earn comfortable six-figure salaries, there are always a few each season at the bottom of the NFL pay scale. For 2022, Jose Borregales of the Dolphins is the lowest paid starting kicker with a salary of just $825,000. Other bargain kickers include inexperienced rookies and short-term replacements earning the league minimum. At the other end, Justin Tucker stands alone with the highest kicker pay at over $6 million per year thanks to his unmatched accuracy and clutch ability in high-stakes moments.